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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: rush · shower · chest · pitch · pop · tear · wound · arm

  1. That must've been a ________________.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. pop — to visit
  3. chest — a box
  4. pop — music
  5. tear — from crying
  6. wound — an injury
  7. chest — of your body
  8. shower — to wash
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. pop — soda
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. wound — an injury
  13. shower — rain
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. tear — from crying
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. tear — to rip
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. rush — hurry
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. pitch — completely
  24. chest — of your body

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com